


To hear you sing one more time

by loljohnwatson



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, First Kiss, First Meetings, M/M, mainly jicheol but some changlix thrown in there casually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28299231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loljohnwatson/pseuds/loljohnwatson
Summary: Seungcheol overhears Jihoon singing karaoke alone and the rest is history. Christmas college AU.
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [follow_the_white_rAbbit_777](https://archiveofourown.org/users/follow_the_white_rAbbit_777/gifts).



> For my secret santa Nadja!
> 
> I've never written anything ever so this was a learning experience. I really did not expect it to get so long so I actually didn't finish it all by Christmas, but I will post the second half soon!
> 
> Make sure to click the links within the story, they're important!
> 
> Enjoy!

Everything on campus feels so different today.

Not necessarily in a bad way though. Over the past week, Jihoon has noticed that the vibe has been growing more excited and upbeat, but at the same time there's a tangible sense of dread. But today it’s obvious that most everyone is on edge with mixed feelings. Sure, it was noticeable around this time last year and Jihoon’s first two years, but now that he doesn’t have the distraction of studying for exams, it feels as if he is on the outside looking in. December has really been a blur - Jihoon can’t even remember how many days there are until Christmas, but he guesses it’s about a week. All he knows is that today is the day before exams start for students. It’s called reading day, a gap day between the last day of classes and the first day of exams in order for the students to study.

As Jihoon looks around at the courtyard filled with students, he notices many who are frantically studying by themselves and in small groups at the picnic tables. By the looks of it, most of these students probably didn’t plan on going outside today. Their hair is a mess, some are still in pajamas, and there’s even one girl whose sweatpants… are on backwards? He guesses that they all got sick of being in the library or studying in their dorms and decided to get some sunshine and order food from one of the campus cafes they’re sitting outside of. Jihoon doesn’t miss his days of stressing out over finals. This is the first semester he is able to avoid them completely. Because he’s a senior now, most of his classes require final projects or a performance instead, a majority of which Jihoon has already submitted. He is relieved that the last thing he has to do to finish this semester is a performance tomorrow night.

There’s someone who catches his eye though, a calm presence amongst the chaos. There’s a guy who looks almost familiar that just set his backpack down and sat on the other side of the courtyard. Something about him feels… safe? Warm? Jihoon can’t pin it down exactly, so he continues watching the man. He’s very handsome, with dark hair and broad shoulders and bright doe eyes. A little bit of light reflects off of an earring, which draws Jihoon’s attention to how he’s dressed. It seems to be a very simple outfit, but wow does it look good on him. He’s wearing a long sleeved white shirt with black horizontal stripes, light wash jeans with a long ended canvas belt, and black Doc Martens. Jihoon takes another second to really appreciate the stranger’s sense of style, until his eyes wander back up towards his face. Wait, did he just smile at a student walking by? Is this man real? He just did it again! Who the fuck is this man?! Though, if there is any day to spread positivity and smiles, it would be today, Jihoon thinks. It hits him just how attractive this man is. Not just because of how alarmingly handsome he is, but his entire energy just draws Jihoon in. He knows he’s seen this guy before in passing around campus, but he’s never taken the time to actually pay attention like he’s doing now. The man begins to open the container with his lunch as...

“Jihoon?” Vernon interrupts his thoughts. “You haven’t said a word since we sat down.. everything okay in there? Why are you smiling like that?” Vernon turns to look over his shoulder where Jihoon had been staring, but doesn’t catch on to anything out of the ordinary before turning back to look quizzically at Jihoon.

Oh shit, he had totally spaced out! “Oh, I guess I just got distracted thinking about this upcoming week. This semester flew by so fast, I haven’t really had time to process that it’s basically over.” Vernon and Jihoon are both Resident Assistants in the same dorm. Through working together, they have become really good friends. Jihoon meets him for lunch pretty regularly between classes, but he feels bad for not even trying to start up a conversation with him today as they’re eating together.

Vernon looks at him empathetically, “Don’t stress, I feel the same way. Sometimes you just need a minute to breathe.”

“Yeah, that’s it” Jihoon replied, and picked up the chopsticks to dig into his ramen. After a couple bites, he glances back over to the Disney prince of a man sitting across the way. It looks like what he has for lunch is tteokbokki. Yum. Just as he lifts his chopsticks up to his mouth to finish the last couple bites, a rice cake falls out of the bowl and lands on his shirt. :( Poor guy didn’t deserve that. Jihoon briefly considers bringing a napkin over to him to help; but before he can decide, the man brushes as much red sauce as he can off of his shirt, packs up his things, and heads off. Jihoon feels kinda sad for him, not gonna lie. He trails off from that thought back into reality when Vernon continues their conversation, “Do you feel ready for your performance tomorrow?” 

Jihoon takes a second to process, then answers honestly “Yeah, I guess. I’ve been trying not to think about it too much. I don’t think many people will show up outside of my classmates and professor anyways.”

“I’m still planning on coming by the way!” Vernon responds. “I know you’ve been working so hard to perfect the song and I’d love to support you. I just know any performance of yours is gonna be fantastic.”

Jihoon ducks his head, embarrassed. “Thanks, man. I’m just ready to get it over with so I can enjoy Christmas break.”

“Trueee” Vernon agrees. “I would do anything to just fast forward past this week and my exams.” He frowns at his food.

Both of them finish their ramen while deep in thought - Jihoon daydreaming about that stranger, and Vernon casually bopping his head probably to a song that's stuck in there. The silence was comfortable between them.

* * *

Later that day, Jihoon and Vernon are setting up a karaoke event in the student center. All of the Resident Assistants have to sign up for a time during the year to throw a campus wide event for the students. Vernon and Jihoon decided to sign up to host the event the day before exams so that hopefully fewer people would show up and they wouldn’t be overwhelmed. It was Vernon’s idea to do karaoke, and Jihoon is grateful that they decided on something so easy to host. All he really has to do is hook up his laptop to the student lounge TV and set out some snacks.

It’s 7PM, which is the time that the event is supposed to start, but no students have shown up yet. Jihoon is a little disappointed. He and Vernon did advertise the event on flyers across campus and Jihoon was looking forward to seeing the sleep deprived students let off some steam after a hard day of studying. Vernon doesn’t seem to mind though, he’s sitting in the corner with a couple textbooks laid out around him and a powerpoint up on his computer. Two of his four exams happen to be scheduled tomorrow back to back. Poor guy.

By the time 7:30 comes around, they still have not had any students come by. Jihoon set Vernon free to go study in the library. It would be more comfortable than this lounge. Jihoon doesn’t mind volunteering to stick around a little longer in case some students do end up wanting to do karaoke.

Fifteen minutes later, Jihoon is tired of munching on the chips they had set out. His boredom drives him to just sing a darn song himself. He pads over to his laptop and types [a song](https://youtu.be/enjE4w4P_5c) into youtube that he knows by heart. Once he finds an instrumental, he grabs the mic and makes himself comfortable on a nearby couch.

At first, he is more reserved in his singing. He really shouldn’t still get nervous after singing in front of people so many times before, but he can’t shake the awareness that the students walking in the hallway outside can probably hear him. At about the halfway point in the song, however, Jihoon loses all sense of his surroundings to the song. He lets himself feel the emotions of the song completely and sings from his heart. It’s always been so easy for him to forget everything and become the music. Before he knows it, the song is over and he deeply breathes in the silence of the room as he comes back to his surroundings. 

Except… it’s not silent ? Someone starts slow clapping from somewhere to his left. Jihoon slowly opens his eyes thinking that Vernon returned or something, only to find the Disney prince man from earlier had come in and sat down! How the hell did Jihoon not hear him? The second he sees him and realizes who it is, Jihoon honest to God falls out of his seat! He’s never been more mortified in his life. He scrambles back up quickly so that the guy doesn’t have time to come scoop him off the floor and carry him into their happily ever after.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!” the stranger says with his hands outstretched apologetically. “I heard you singing and I was curious about who could possibly be the owner of the most beautiful voice I’ve literally ever heard.”

Jihoon is still flustered and most definitely blushing, but manages to choke out, “Uh- yeah, it’s alright! You didn’t startle me.” 

“I didn’t? So you just fell for fun?” the guy relaxes and grins playfully.

“Shhh it was part of the song” Jihoon shoots back, matching his grin. Remembering his RA duties, Jihoon straightens up a little bit and asks “By the way this is a karaoke event, would you like to sing something... um..” 

“Seungcheol” he fills in.

“Would you like to sing something, Seungcheol? I’m Jihoon by the way.” Jihoon tries to steady his heartbeat and fake appearing calm as best he could.

Seungcheol shakes his head to decline. “No, but thank you Jihoon. Though I wouldn’t complain if you sang another one!” Seungcheol is looking over at Jihoon expectantly. God, the way he says Jihoon’s name should be illegal. He considers saying yes, but remembers he should probably save his voice for the performance tomorrow. 

“Not if you aren’t, I’m not singing by myself again!” Jihoon protests.

Seungcheol dramatically stops to think “Hmm then I guess I should think of a song we could sing together.” Jihoon actually giggles in response to this. Why is this man affecting him so much, what is happening? Seungcheol breaks his philosophical thinking pose to suggest pointedly, “What about ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’?”

Jihoon can’t help but think that the song choice is intentional. Is Seungcheol flirting? He tries to ignore the butterflies that have no right to be fluttering in his stomach to huff, “I could’ve guessed you’d choose that one. Yeah, I suppose I could do one more song.” He gets up off the couch to search for the instrumental and grab a second mic. As the music starts, Jihoon gets settled next to Seungcheol on a couch facing the TV showing the words. Jihoon lowers his mic and gestures for Seungcheol to start with the beginning line. That’s all the encouragement he needed as he dramatically sings the beginning riffs with more confidence than Jihoon thinks he could ever have. “IIiiIIIiiiiiIIIII don’t wANt a loT fooOoOrrr Christmaaaaaaas….” He has a pretty decent voice too under the air of silliness he is portraying. They switch off singing a couple times in the first verse, but they both sing together during the chorus. Jihoon will admit, it is pretty magical. When it gets to the part with the high note at the end, Seungcheol stops singing and lets him take that part. Jihoon shows off a little with some riffs, and when he finishes, he looks over at Seungcheol who is looking back with the biggest most surprised eyes. “What?” Jihoon asks as the music fades out. 

“Are you an idol or something and I just haven’t noticed this whole time? That was amazing!” Seungcheol answers, finally blinking.

Jihoon is blushing again. “No, no I’m not, but I could say the same for you! That was pretty good.” He stands to put both mics back. The event is supposed to be ending right about now and he should start cleaning up, but he doesn’t want to say goodbye to Seungcheol. He scrambles to think of something to talk about because suddenly his mind is empty. He looks over at Seungcheol and notices he never changed out of his white striped shirt after spilling his lunch on it. “It shouldn’t be too hard to get the tteokbokki stain out,” Jihoon ponders aloud.

“Really? I thought this shirt was a goner. Wait, how did you know it was tteokbokki?” Seungcheol asks, with his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. His face changes to a sly realization “Are you.. are you following me?”

Jihoon freezes, kicking himself internally for saying that out loud. “Uhh, no it was just a guess. I’ve spilled it on my clothes plenty of times, you just need to put white vinegar on it and it’ll be good as new!” Jihoon turns back to continue cleaning up, hoping he played it off convincingly.

“Ok stalker,” Seungcheol jokes. “I am wondering though, what’s your major? Mine’s business, but you probably already knew that since you’ve been following me.”

“Alright fine, I was eating lunch with my friend in the courtyard beside the cafeteria earlier, and I saw you drop tteokbokki on your shirt. I was devastated for you because you seemed so nice.” Seungcheol leans forward to laugh loudly at this response. Jihoon continues, “But my major is music composition.” He stops cleaning and walks back over to the seating area and sits in a chair diagonal from Seungcheol this time.

Seungcheol has the widest grin spreading across his face at that. “Aww you think I’m nice!” He looks so genuinely happy at hearing that. “I’m glad to hear you’re studying something to do with music. It would be a crime for all your talent to not be shared with the world. So does music composition mean you write songs?”

Jihoon is relieved that the conversation is moving away from the tteokbokki incident. He’s glad Seungcheol didn’t seem to find that too weird. “Yeah, I’ve played around with writing and recording a few songs before, but I’ve only written and fully produced one song as a final project for a class this semester. Most of my classes before now were just for practicing techniques and learning history and theory.”

Seungcheol has his eyes wide in adoration again. He’s so charming, Jihoon thinks. “That’s beyond awesome! I bet your songs are amazing. Is there any way I could hear one, maybe?” he asks hopefully. His enthusiasm is encouraging. He usually gets these kinds of questions when he tells people his major, but Seungcheol is genuinely interested in a way that Jihoon isn’t used to.

An idea immediately pops into Jihoon’s head. “Actually, there’s a way you could hear it in person.” Seuncheol’s face immediately lights up with anticipation. “For my final project in my Music Performance class, I have to sing at an exhibition tomorrow. Everyone in my class will be participating, so it’s not just me, but you’re welcome to come and hear my song! It starts at 6:30.”

“I would love to come. I’d do anything to hear you sing one more time,” Seungcheol assures. 

Jihoon can’t stop the grin from spreading across his face. “Okay!” They both smile at each other and maintain eye contact in silence for a second longer than is socially acceptable before Jihoon gets up and stumbles to finish packing up the last of the karaoke snacks. He hears Seungcheol getting up and Jihoon panics when he realizes he wouldn’t have a way to contact Seungcheol if he leaves now! He turns around quickly and blurts out, “Can I, uh, give you my number?”

“Oh, yeah.. one sec,” Seungcheol answers as he unlocks his phone and pulls up his contacts before giving it to Jihoon to fill in. When he looks down at the New Contact screen, he sees Seungcheol has already typed in the name.

He smiles at how cute that is, and types in his number. Seungcheol looks pleased when he hands the phone back, and just happily stares at the contact for a second. “I’ll text you,” he says, putting it back into his pocket.

Jihoon puts his jacket on and grabs his stuff. Now he feels better about saying goodbye and ending karaoke night. It’s not at all how he expected tonight to go, but he’s sure he’ll have no problem recovering from the unplanned meeting and embarrassing moments. When they say goodbye, it’s not awkward at all. It feels as if they had already been friends before tonight. Jihoon is hopeful about getting to know Seungcheol more. As he is walking away, it occurs to him that he doesn’t really know much about Seungcheol! He regrets talking about himself so much tonight, and makes a mental note to ask him more questions the next chance he can.

As Jihoon walks back to his dorm, he breathes in the crisp night air. It got chilly fast, but what else should he expect from a December night. The fog beginning to envelope the campus creates a dream-like atmosphere. He follows the familiar lit up path with a little more energy than usual. His brain is processing everything that happened today a mile a minute. He really can’t believe how quickly Seungcheol has made his way into Jihoon’s heart. Jihoon does have a track record of developing crushes too fast, but he feels hopeful about this. Suddenly out of nowhere, some doubt crosses his mind. What if he was misinterpreting Seungcheol’s friendliness as something more? It seemed so clear in the moment that he was flirting with Jihoon, but what if he’s wrong? Jihoon shakes the thought out of his head as he reaches the dorm. He’s tired and has a big day tomorrow, no need to waste energy stressing about something he can’t know the answer to yet. As he steps into the building his phone buzzes in his pocket. He stops at the bottom of the dorm staircase to check the message. It’s from an unsaved number and reads, “Goodnight, Jihoonie ❤️ ” Jihoon saves the contact and replies, “You too, Cheollie 💖 ” Yep it’s official. Jihoon has a huge crush and there’s no turning back now.

* * *

Jihoon woke up way too early this morning to be thinking clearly about what to wear tonight. Usually, he has no trouble sleeping in when he needs the rest, but today for some godforsaken reason his body decided to wake itself up at 5 AM. Which is crazy because he literally has no responsibilities until he has to be at the exhibition. It’s a little after lunch now and he doesn’t feel tired physically, but mentally he feels drained. He can’t stop thinking about how Seungcheol is going to be there tonight. Jihoon isn’t worried about the performance very much, he’s gone through the song so many times it’s muscle memory by now. But Seungcheol is gonna be there and just that thought alone makes Jihoon’s stomach do a backflip. Is he going to be distracted on stage if he catches sight of Seungcheol? Will he accidentally sing about his magnificent jawline instead of the real lyrics? Is he gonna accidentally fall off his chair again? Will he walk off the edge of the stage? What if Seungcheol shows up with a significant other? Now Jihoon is just getting carried away. It was clear last night that Seungcheol was into him. There’s no reason to start doubting that now. 

He looks back down at the variety of clothing items he has strewn out over the bed. There’s no denying he needs help. And there aren’t many options right now for who could come over to help. Most everyone he knows is either studying for an exam or currently in one like Vernon. He’s only close to a couple people in his major, and he definitely wouldn’t trust them with fashion advice. The only people that leaves are the students on Jihoon’s hall. He decides he will go to one of them for help. He doesn’t allow himself to think about it longer because he knows he will back out from embarrassment, so he immediately walks out into the hallway and heads straight for Minghao’s suite. Jihoon would trust his opinion the most, he’s easily the most fashionable person he knows. Minghao is the transfer student from China, and also one of the reasons Jihoon will have to spend Christmas at the dorm. Since he’s not going home for the holiday like the rest of his students, at least one RA has to be on call through the break. Jihoon actually offered to stay and let Vernon go home instead. He is looking forward to having a little bit of time to relax and recover from this particularly intense semester. His family was never really big on celebrating holidays on time, so they accepted his promise to come home and visit after Christmas.

He knocks at the door of Minghao’s suite hoping he will be the one to answer the door. The less people who know his dilemma of not being able to pick a fucking outfit for himself the better. 

Jihoon is relieved when Minghao is the one who answers a second later. He looks taken aback at seeing Jihoon standing at his door. It occurs to Jihoon just how out of the blue this probably seems. He never really spent time talking with Minghao other than the obligatory meeting at the beginning of the semester. He’s never had suitemate issues or maintenance things that need to be addressed, so Jihoon’s rarely interacted with him. He hopes Minghao doesn’t think he’s in trouble or something, so Jihoon quickly greets him and asks if he has a minute to give him some advice. Minghao gives him a confused but interested look and agrees to follow Jihoon back to his room.

As they’re walking, Jihoon explains. “I really didn’t know who else to ask, but I want to make a good impression at an event I’m singing at tonight and my brain isn’t working enough to put together an outfit right now. I’m a mess.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll try my best to help!” Minghao says cheerily. His expression changes when Jihoon opens the door to his bedroom and he sees the mess of clothes arranged and discarded across the room. “Oh, you weren’t kidding.”

Jihoon winces at the honesty. “Yeah, it’s bad.” Minghao doesn’t respond as his gears start working. He glides around the room moving things aside and holding onto clothes he deems acceptable. It takes him a couple minutes to finish this process, but when he has a solid armful of clothes, he clears the bed and starts arranging what he has. Jihoon can hear him mumbling things out loud, but can’t make out exactly what he’s saying besides a “no, too bright,” and “would make him look shorter.” Jihoon holds himself back from choking out laughter at that and makes a mental note to get rid of that shirt if it does indeed make him look shorter like Minghao says. Finally, there are only a couple items laid out on his bed. Jihoon walks up and admires the combination. Not something he would have chosen for himself, but not in a bad way. It’s his silky collared black shirt with a pattern of subtle vertical black lines, and a pair of plain black dress pants. 

“Shoes?” Minghao asked.

“Oh, right.” Jihoon walks over to his closet and opens the door, letting Minghao pass to peruse the options.

He quickly chooses a pair of low black boots and walks them over to set down on the floor in front of the outfit. He turns to Jihoon and instructs, “Roll your pants legs up just enough to show your ankles, tuck only the front of your shirt in, and undo more buttons at the top than you usually do. Oh, also if you have eyeliner, it would be a good night to use it.” 

All black was a bold choice, and he trusts Minghao’s judgement. When he looks back up after he’s done browsing over the laid out clothing, he notices Minghao staring at him with amusement. “Who’s gonna be at this event?”

“My classmates and their families.” Jihoon answers, a little too quickly.

“And..?” Minghao looks at Jihoon, his amusement changing into a knowing smile.

“My professor…” Minghao doesn’t say anything else, but continues with an expression that reads ‘Go on...’ Jihoon is nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other but gives in. “...and a guy I met yesterday that I invited to watch.” Jihoon pouts at being called out. “Okay you got me. I’m kinda nervous and just want to make a good impression since he knows how to dress well.” 

Minghao looks pleased with himself. “Aww that’s actually really cute. Well you’re going to look hot in this, I know he’s gonna be head over heels.” Minghao really is straight to the point, but it’s very reassuring. Jihoon can feel his confidence rising and stress melting away as the wardrobe problem comes to a close.

“I owe you one, big time. Thanks so much for helping out of the blue like that,” Jihoon smiles genuinely thankful for the relief Minghao brought. 

Minghao grins back in response, “Good luck tonight.” Of course he means more than just the performance.

* * *

Jihoon is forcing himself not to sneak a look into the audience to see if Seungcheol has sat down yet. The showcase is about to start and he knows that would just make him more nervous. The best game plan is to just clear his mind and focus on getting everything over with. He looks into the mirror and gives himself an appreciative once over. Minghao was right. He took all of the advice, including the eyeliner, and it’s a great look on him. His heart leaps as he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. It’s Vernon! How could he forget that Vernon would be there, he was so focused on Seungcheol! The text reads, “Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Jihoon doesn’t deserve Vernon! Such a wholesome guy. He texts back quickly, “Thank u! Hope your exams went well! Thanks again for still coming to support me, you must be tired 🥺💖” He really needs to remember to thank Vernon in person again for inspiring the lyrics of the song he is about to perform. Over the summer and through this semester, Vernon endured a long messy break-up, and ended up venting and processing his feelings about it all with Jihoon. The climax of this was happening while Jihoon was struggling to come up with a topic to write a song about for the final project for his Contemporary Songwriting class, and writing about Vernon’s experience just happened naturally. He got approval from Vernon first, of course, before continuing in the process of producing the song. He was even the one who suggested that Jihoon choose this song to sing tonight for his Music Performance final, while most everyone else settled for doing a cover song. 

Before Jihoon knows it, his turn is next. He immediately spots Seungcheol as he walks up to the chair in the center of the stage, and suddenly he feels a strange sense of calm wash over him. When they lock eyes with each other, it’s as if they’re the only two in the room in that moment. Jihoon looks away to introduce [his song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98xgWVaipo0&t=115s), but he is still very much aware of Seungcheol’s gaze in his direction. The lights dim and he begins. He let’s the emotions of the words flow through him, and he loses all sense of his surroundings to the song. No matter how many times he practices singing it, he will always feel the same emotions he felt the nights he empathized with Vernon’s pain and confusion.

Muscle memory kicks in, and before he can realize what happened, the song is over. He thanks the audience and walks off stage, not even tripping or falling off of anything!

It feels like forever before the last of his classmates are done performing and his professor is closing the show. He escapes the crowd of families crooning over the other students to find Vernon and Seungcheol both waiting for him around the same area. How funny! He calls out to both of them, “Vernon! Seungcheol! Thanks for coming!”

They both simultaneously shower him with praise for his singing abilities and the song itself. Jihoon responds to Seungcheol first, “I’m happy you were able to come with such short notice. Glad you enjoyed it.” Then he turns to Vernon. “I’m glad you came too, even with your busy schedule! Thanks again for giving me something to write about, I couldn’t have done it without your inspiration.” 

Vernon smiles back and with sincerity replies, “No, I should be thanking you for everything! I’m just glad something beautiful came out of it. I’m gonna head out, I need to catch up on my sleep. See you later Jihoon!” He waves goodbye, and even sends a polite smile and nod to Seungcheol before turning away to leave. 

When Jihoon focuses his attention back on Seungcheol, he looks a bit confused? or thrown off maybe, while watching Vernon leave. Whatever emotion it is, it quickly disappears as he excitedly waves over two guys who were just getting up from their seats. “I hope it’s alright, I invited my roommates! Felix and Changbin!” He points out each of the guys one at a time. “Technically only Felix is my roommate, but his boyfriend Changbin practically lives at my apartment he’s over so much.” Seungcheol says this in a fake complaining tone, and they all laugh together as Felix slaps Seungcheol’s arm in jest.

Felix is the first to speak up. “Cheol was looking forward to this all day. He kept telling us how amazing your voice was to the point that we had to come and see for ourselves. I will say, you deserve the hype.” Jihoon is overwhelmed by all of the kind words from everyone. It’s a really nice feeling. 

Before he can respond, Changbin speaks up. “Please come to dinner with us! We were already planning on going out, but we’d love for you to come too!”

Jihoon looks over to Seungcheol to gauge his response, “I wouldn’t want to intrude.” 

Seungcheol reassures, “We want you to join us!” and then under his breath pleads, “and I don't want to third wheel again please help me.” They all burst out in laughter at that.

Jihoon catches his breath to respond. “Okay okay I’ll come with you guys for dinner! Where are we going?”

Seungcheol and Changbin both look to Felix. “Oh, it’s my turn to decide isn’t it. Hmm i was thinking about that Pho restaurant down the street, what’s it called again?”

“Bapuri Pho? I love that place!” Jihoon exclaims.

“Perfect! Let’s go there, I’m hungry.” Felix grabs Changbin’s hand and they lead the group out of the auditorium.

* * *

It’s actually really nice eating with them. Seungcheol had insisted on paying for Jihoon’s pho, in his words, ‘to make up for forgetting to bring flowers to throw on stage after you finished singing.’ Seungcheol was joking around, but still was insistent on paying, so Jihoon obliged. Free food is nice after all. 

Jihoon is thoroughly enjoying himself. So far, he’s gotten to know more about Seungcheol like he was hoping. He is a business major but only because his parents convinced him to take that route. He doesn’t mind though and is excited to graduate in the spring just like Jihoon. Felix and Changbin are really funny. They met because Changbin’s package accidentally got delivered to Felix and Seungcheol’s apartment last year. Felix had been the one to volunteer to bring it to the address listed on the package. That’s when he knocked on Changbin’s door and met him for the first time. Felix thought it was the cutest thing in the world when he saw Changbin excitedly open the package to find a Munchlax plushie. They took awhile to admit their feelings and start dating, but now they are inseparable. It’s a really cute story! 

Multiple times throughout the dinner conversations, Jihoon can sense that Seungcheol glances over at him from directly across the table. He tries to act like he doesn’t notice and continues to listen and nod to whoever is talking, but he still feels his cheeks getting warmer with self-awareness. A couple times when Seungcheol isn’t looking, Jihoon returns the glances and hopes he isn’t too obvious about it. Just like yesterday, Seungcheol looks fashionable as fuck. This time, he’s wearing a white shirt with some English or something on it and a long, dark grey jacket. It seems effortless, but such a tasteful choice. 

As everyone begins to finish their food, Changbin seems to pick up on the weird curious energy between the two sneaking glances at each other. They’re not doing a good enough job sneaking apparently. Changbin grins while looking back and forth between them, and after a beat speaks up. “Babe, could you come outside with me for a second?” He and Felix share a knowing grin for a split second before scrambling outside leaving Jihoon and Seungcheol alone at the table.

The silence builds for a minute before Jihoon decides on what to say. “What are you doing for Christmas?” he asks while pushing around the last couple noodles with his chopsticks.

“Uh, I guess I haven’t really figured that out yet. What about you?” 

Jihoon looks up from his bowl. “Same thing really. All I know for sure is I have to stay near campus because one of the students on my hall is staying through the holidays.”

Seungcheol gives him an empathetic look, “That kinda sucks, you didn’t get a choice?”

“Well it was between me and Vernon, but I volunteered because I thought it would be a nice change to stay on campus during a break. It’ll be a whole different experience I’m sure” Jihoon reassures.

Seungcheol’s eyes grow wide at his response. “The same Vernon from earlier?” 

“Yeah, actually. We met as coworkers in the same dorm, and our friendship grew from there.” Seuncheol becomes quiet and his expression is unreadable now, so Jihoon thinks to change the subject. “If you don’t have any plans tomorrow, would you want to come with me to the school’s studio? I have a couple more songs that I’m working on that I think you might like.” Jihoon looks across the table optimistically waiting for the answer.

“I could after my exam. It’s gonna be a pretty long one but I’d still love to come. Can’t promise my brain won’t be fried though.”

Jihoon gasps, “Oh shit! I forgot people still have exams! Shit, it’s really late too, shouldn’t you be preparing for it? Why didn’t you tell me sooner!” he panics, as for some reason it never occurred to him that Seungcheol might not be done with the semester like he is.

Seungcheol laughs in response. “Because it’s not a big deal, and I’d much rather be here with you than studying things I’m not even going to remember tomorrow.”

Jihoon frowns. “I’m flattered, but you still need to rest. I would feel responsible if you didn’t do well. Either way, I should probably go back home too. I didn’t sleep well last night and I’m starting to feel it.” They both finish their last bit of food and start to clean up the table. Jihoon looks around just then. “Changbin and Felix never came back, do you think they’re alright?”

Seungcheol lets out another chuckle. “Yeah I’m sorry about them, they do that sometimes. They definitely aren’t coming back, and it’s also probably best if I take the long walk home to give them some extra time by themselves, ya know?” he says, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Oh my god” Jihoon blurts out and laughs with him. 

They both stand up to leave together in comfortable silence. Jihoon can’t help but feel as if this is the end of a date. Even though it was supposed to be a group dinner, the fact that Seungcheol paid for him and that they were alone for a good part of it no doubt adds to the date vibes. If that wasn’t enough, Seungcheol asks, “Would it be alright if I walked with you? I actually do wanna take my time getting home, and I love seeing the campus at night.”

Jihoon agrees. It’s a lovely little walk. He finds he really enjoys just being with Seungcheol. It really feels comfortable between them, like they’ve been friends for longer than just a day. He’s grateful for the little bit of extra time with Seungcheol the walk allows him, and it’s really nice getting to converse with him a little while longer.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungcheol and Jihoon figure things out
> 
> This is the last chapter! Make sure to click on the link in this one too :)
> 
> Second half of my very late secret santa gift for Nadja. Thank you for being patient with me <3

Jihoon has learned 3 things today. 

Firstly, don’t sleep in eyeliner. It had smudged on his pillowcase and now his eyes feel more dry than normal. 

The second thing he learned is that this is gonna be a painfully long holiday if he doesn’t find a way to spend his time productively. Since his last school commitment was yesterday with the performance, the holiday boredom has begun to set in. So far today, he’s rewatched the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie and made himself lunch, but he’s starting to get restless. It’s kinda funny that he feels this way now, because when he actually has responsibilities, he has no problem staying home all day and wasting time.

The third thing he’s learned is just how much he is looking forward to seeing Seungcheol again. He keeps eagerly checking his phone for a text saying that the exam is over. Jihoon is absolutely not the kind of person to have his world and identity revolve around someone else. That being said, he is INFATUATED. It seems too good to be true to meet someone you get along with so well and who is also hot as fuck and seems to care about you. If there is a catch, Jihoon doesn’t care. He’s satisfied to just enjoy getting to know Seungcheol more and hope that something might come out of it. 

He’s in bed lying on top of the duvet scrolling on his phone when he finally gets the text from Seungcheol. He types a response way too quickly to be socially appropriate, but he doesn’t care. Jihoon’s more than ready to see him again.

Seungcheol agrees to meet him at the school studios. Jihoon expects it to be empty, and he’s right. He heads to studio C (the one with the comfiest chairs) and pulls up some of his projects while he waits. He has lots of projects in different stages of completion, but he pulls up one he’s particularly excited about working on.

“Hiiiii I’m approaching, please don’t fall out of your chair or anything,” Jihoon hears Seungcheol’s voice move from the hallway to directly beside Jihoon as he drapes his arm across the back of the desk chair. Jihoon glares up and playfully bumps into Seungcheol’s hip with his shoulder. 

“Good thing you can’t bring food into the studio or else you might spill something all over your shirt again,” he shoots back.

“Touche.” Seungcheol chuckles. He looks so cute in his poofy winter jacket. It somehow makes him look kinda small with how poofy it is. Aww. “Glad I didn’t stop for coffee on the way here, I didn’t know that rule.” He takes off his backpack and jacket and sits in the desk chair beside him and leans forward to see the screen. “What are you working on?”

“Well, nothing right now. Just looking at some of my unfinished projects and trying not to feel overwhelmed to be honest. I am really excited about this one in particular, though. I’ve called the song Pinwheel, but I’m not sure if it’ll stick.”

“Can I hear it?” Seungcheol looks over expectantly.

Jihoon snorts, “No, I thought it would be fun to just stare at it together.” That earns a cheesy grin from Seungcheol. “Okay but just keep in mind it’s not finished yet. I really only have the chorus worked out so far.” 

Jihoon scrolls through the song looking for a good place to start it from. “How was your exam, by the way? You seem pretty cheery.”

“Oh, yeah the exam went well. I feel good about it but my brain is completely fried right now from how much I had to remember.” 

“Aww maybe you do need to get some coffee whenever we’re done,” Jihoon offers and Seungcheol agrees. Jihoon turns his attention back to the screen, finds the chorus and hits play. He watches as Seungcheol starts to digest the instrumental. Self-awareness pools in his stomach at how intently his work is being taken in. He tries to ignore it and just enjoy listening to the music himself. The chorus ends just as quickly as it started. He pauses it and waits eagerly for feedback. 

“Oh, wow. I - I can really tell how much work you put into this! I don’t know much about producing music, but the way you layered the string instruments in with the, the piano and beat was just.. I don’t even know, I’m speechless.” 

Jihoon takes in a breath of surprise. “Oh, uh, thank you. It actually did take a long time to test out different combinations of instruments and beats to see what felt right. I didn’t think anyone would pick up on that at this stage.”

“I don’t know how anyone could not notice! I can’t even imagine how the final product would sound. Are you going to write lyrics to go with it?” 

“Oh, yeah,” Jihoon pulls out his phone and pulls up his notes. “I finished that before even starting on the instrumental.” He finds the Pinwheel note and offers, “do you want me to show you how the chorus goes?”

“You don’t ever have to ask me if I want to hear you sing. I’ll always say yes.”

Jihoon looks up surprised at the sincerity in his voice. Seungcheol is looking back with both anticipation and fondness that makes Jihoon melt a little bit into his seat. With a nod that portrayed wordless appreciation of the praise, he finds the beginning of the chorus on the screen and plays it again, this time with the words in front of him.

[To you in the far future](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FslUTgfCZPk)  
[Without regrets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FslUTgfCZPk)  
[I always wanna wait](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FslUTgfCZPk)  
[That way, my heart will be at ease](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FslUTgfCZPk)  
[Although you lose the way](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FslUTgfCZPk)  
[Though it will take long](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FslUTgfCZPk)  
[While you’re going round and round](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FslUTgfCZPk)  
[But it’s fine if you find me again](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FslUTgfCZPk)  
[Even if it’s far in the future](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FslUTgfCZPk)

He looks over to find Seungcheol’s eyes were closed as he took in the words. Jihoon doesn’t pause the music this time, and he lets it continue on in the background as Seungcheol opens his eyes in wonder. Jihoon thinks he hears a “wow” under his breath. 

“I have the rest of the lyrics written out here if you want to see.”

Seungcheol practically snatches the phone with eagerness as he offers it out, which makes Jihoon giggle.

While Seungcheol takes his time reading through the poem, Jihoon turns his attention back to the computer. He clicks around here and there, but is too distracted to actually make any progress. Seungcheol is reading something he put his heart and soul into! It makes him just a little bit nervous to be this vulnerable with someone he only met a couple days ago, no matter how comfortable he feels around him by now. 

He gives up on trying to distract himself, and looks over to study Seungcheol. He actually looks like a college student today with his Busan National University sweater and sweatpants. Classic exam attire. His bangs are falling into his eyes as he’s reading, but he’s so absorbed in Jihoon’s lyrics that he doesn’t seem to notice. It’s at this moment Jihoon’s reminded why he was looking forward to spending more time with Cheol. Being here makes him feel overwhelmingly warm and safe.

Finally Seungcheol hands the phone back and looks up, with a little extra sparkle in the corners of his eyes. Jihoon rotates his chair to fully face him and asks, “Are you... crying?”

“Noabsolutelynotwhywouldyouthinkthat” Seungcheol stammers and quickly wipes his eyes. “I’m fine.” 

“Of course, my mistake. You look completely fine. What did you think?”

Seungcheol takes a second to think before answering, “It’s really something special. Your thoughts and experiences are portrayed so poetically through the words, it’s amazing that you were able to put that together, and even create an instrumental to complement its feel so well. Also Pinwheel is a perfect name for it, I don’t think you should change it.” He leans back in his seat thoughtfully and crosses his legs before continuing, “I really do want to know, why do you write songs? What made you want to make music?”

Jihoon doesn’t even have to think of his answer. He’s been asked before, but this feels different. Something about Seungcheol and his genuineness in the way he’s asking elicits an honest response from Jihoon. No fluff. Not the typical practiced answer he’s used to giving.

“It’s always been something I turn to. Whenever I experience strong emotions I don’t know how to deal with, it just comes as an automatic response to me just to put it into words through song. Things I would never talk about otherwise, I’m able to process this way. The good, the bad, the confusing, all of it. I guess it’s therapeutic, you know? If I didn’t have this as an outlet I think my natural response would just be to hide away the emotions I don’t know what to do with and ignore them as long as I can.” This time, it’s Jihoon whose eyes are starting to grow damp. Not because he’s sad or anything, just the unexpected vulnerability is making him a little bit emotional to talk about out loud. “For some reason it’s easier to be honest this way. To myself and to others.”

Suddenly Seungcheol is right there. He’s leaning forward in his chair and places a warm hand on the side of Jihoon’s face, wiping the single tear that just dropped with his thumb. Jihoon is taken aback at first, but he’s quickly calmed when his eyes lock with Seungcheol’s. Their faces are close, and his eyes are wordlessly communicating to Jihoon. He feels safe and accepted and heard all through one look. He’s not sure who moves first, but in an instant, their lips are together and both of Seungcheol’s hands are cradling Jihoon’s face. Unsure of where to place his own hands, he brings one up to the back of Seungcheol’s head and brushes his fingers into the dark hair tentatively. Their lips move together slowly in sync. Jihoon’s stomach erupts with butterflies as one of Seungcheol’s hands moves from the side of his face down his neck to rest on the front of his chest. Heat spreads out from the touch through Jihoon’s entire body. He’s kissed people before, but it’s never felt like this. 

They both startle and jump what feels like a couple inches in the air as Jihoon’s phone rings from the desk to interrupt. They separate slowly and reluctantly. “Damn it Vernon,” Jihoon thinks aloud as he reads the caller ID. He should’ve just silenced his phone. He fumbles to shut off the ringer and flip his phone face down, and turns back to look at Seungcheol. He’s out of breath and his hair is messy, but now he won’t meet Jihoon’s eyes. 

“I - Thank you for showing me your song, and - singing for me.” He is still looking at the floor, but continues, “I’m really tired. It’s been a long day, and I have my last two exams tomorrow, so I really should get going. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer.”

Jihoon is sure his confusion and despair shows through on his face because Seungcheol apologizes again before picking up his backpack and saying goodbye with a little bit more formality than Jihoon is used to with him.

He sits in stunned silence staring at the empty doorway for what feels like an hour, thinking back through what just happened. 

When he snaps back to reality, he remembers Vernon’s call. He turns his phone back over to see that it was only 4 minutes ago. Two more texts have come through after that explaining what he needed. One of their students was checking out for the semester and Vernon couldn’t find the clipboard with the checkout list. He types a response that the clipboard should be in their supervisor’s office, and sets his phone back down. 

He looks back at the computer screen, but can’t focus his mind on anything other than what just happened. Backtracking what he said doesn’t help, he can’t figure out anything that could have made Seungcheol run out like that. It had seemed like he was having a good time. What if it was about Vernon? What if they had known each other, had some kind of history? Seuncheol did seem a little confused when they were all together at Jihoon’s performance. How did he not put this together before? He might be wrong but this is the only rational explanation his brain can come up with right now. 

Since there’s no way he can know for sure right now, he does his best to clear his mind and focus on working on the song. His uncertainty and wave of confused emotions are actually helping him get into the zone, so he thinks it’s best to channel all that into being productive.

* * *

The next day feels like one of the longest of Jihoon’s life. He is exhausted despite actually getting some sleep last night. It was restless sleep though. Foggy memories of his dream have been coming back to him in pieces since he woke up. He was a pickle apparently? It was kinda nice. If only he could go back to being a pickle and ignore all of his responsibilities and feelings.

But he can’t. Most of the students on his hall are scheduled to check out today and go home for the holidays, and that means Jihoon has to do inspections for each of the guys' rooms. Each check out inspection takes longer than the last, it feels. It makes him appreciate Vernon getting a head start yesterday. He left to go home this morning and he misses his friend already.

Despite trying to stay focused, Jihoon’s thoughts keep drifting to Seungcheol. He had two exams today, he wonders if they’re over by now, or if he’s still stressing out over them. Jihoon considers texting him, but decides it’s best to give him space after yesterday. He still can’t exactly figure out what happened, but today isn’t really the most ideal day to call up Seungcheol and ask, ‘Hey I know you’re probably really stressed and tired and all, but please tell me why you freaked out and ran yesterday after we made out.’

The next student’s room on the schedule to be inspected is one of Minghao’s suitemates. Jihoon never updated him on how his performance went! He’ll have to stop by his room when he finishes. Christmas music is playing throughout this suite, reminding Jihoon that it’s only 2 days until Christmas eve. It really doesn’t feel like it though. Usually around this time he would be home with his family eating his mom’s holiday desserts. He decides he will at least bake cookies while spending Christmas in the dorms. That’ll make him feel more like he’s celebrating and less like he’s spending it alone.

After finishing the checklist, he does decide to knock on Minghao’s bedroom door. On the other side of the door, it sounds like Minghao is ending a phone call. He speaks a couple phrases in Chinese that Jihoon thinks he recognizes part as “love you mom,” and he swiftly appears at the door. 

“Oh- I’m sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt, I just wanted to check up with you since I won’t be doing an official check out inspection for you. How are you doing? Do you have anything planned for the break?”

Minghao's face lights up when he sees Jihoon. That warms his heart, as last time he was confused to see Jihoon at his door. “No, it’s fine! I’m doing well. I’m really looking forward to the break actually. I purposefully didn’t plan anything so that I could be a free spirit. Maybe I’ll go out to the bar, maybe I’ll stay in and make microwaved hot chocolate. Who knows,” he beams.

“Good! If you ever need anything at all, you can text me. You know that right? I still owe you after how much you helped me the other day.”

Minghao lights up with remembrance. “Oh right, how did it go? Did that guy show up?” Minghao winks suggestively.

Suddenly, Jihoon’s stomach drops as he remembers Seungcheol. This was really the first time today that he had been distracted enough to forget what happened. Before he can answer, Minghao must pick up on the change in his expression, because he’s ushering him over to the living room couch and asking what’s wrong. 

Talking through the whole situation kinda feels a little pathetic. He’s only just met this guy and his whole world has shifted on its axis because of one thing that felt like a rejection. It feels good saying all of this out loud though. Minghao is very sincere in the way he’s listening and encouraging Jihoon to be open. Usually it’s Vernon that he goes to when he needs to vent, but he already knows what his advice will be. “Just talk it out” or “maybe you misinterpreted it” or something similar which may be good advice, but Jihoon doesn’t want to hear that right now. Instead Minghao patiently waits until he is finished, and after a little bit of contemplation suggests, “What if you asked him to hang out tomorrow? You said he was staying in town this week and his last exams are today. If things really are weird between you, he’ll just say no. That will help you at least have some clarity. But if he says yes then at least you’ll be able to be around him a little bit longer to see if things are back to normal. You know?”

Jihoon nods. “You’re right. I think I’ll do that. I really appreciate you, Hao.”

“I’ll add this to your bill. My advice doesn’t come cheap, you owe me food sometime,” Minghao beams again, back to his lighthearted mood. 

“Deal.” Jihoon feels significantly lighter as he leaves the suite to return to his room. Ideas of what he could ask Cheol to do with him tomorrow are running through his head. He decides he won’t send the text until tomorrow in order to let him rest after the exams.

He does, however, decide to send a message later that night. “Hope you survived the day alright. Goodnight Cheol :)” 

The immediate reply sends a jolt of energy down Jihoon’s spine as he reads, “Goodnight Hoon :)”

Jihoon smiles and grows more hopeful about tomorrow.

* * *

The windows of Jihoon’s car fog up with steam from the coffee he just picked up. He texted Seungcheol this morning and he had quickly agreed to join him on a drive to the nearby reservoir and walk on one of the trails. He’s been meaning to go explore the reservoir, but hasn’t found the time to. If Seungcheol had said no, he probably would’ve still gone just for some time to himself. 

He hasn’t allowed his mind to wander through all the possibilities of what might happen this morning. Instead, he’s occupied all of his attention on trivial tasks like cleaning his dorm and picking up the coffee. But the longer he sits in his car waiting, the more his mind starts drifting. Minghao’s advice from yesterday comes back to him. Seungcheol agreed to come with Jihoon which is a good sign, but now he is anxious to know if things will feel back to normal. Just then, Seungcheol pops through the door of his apartment complex, locks it, and heads for the car. Jihoon feels chills of anticipation as he gets to the passenger door. 

Seungcheol giggles as he sits down in the passenger seat. “Hey,” he smiles over.

“What?” Jihoon asks. Seungcheol is obviously amused at something?

“I’m sorry, it’s - your car,” he says as if that explains everything. Jihoon still looks just as confused, tilting his head as if to ask for clarification. “I don’t know how, but it looks just like you. I can’t imagine a more perfect car for you.” Cheol’s expression is transparent with fondness.

“Um.. Thanks? But why?” He drives a light blue 2 door Hyundai Genesis. It’s just an ordinary car in his opinion, but yeah no one's ever compared it to him before.

“You fit so perfectly in it,” Seungcheol says as he gestures around at the car. “And it’s light blue. If you were a car you’d be a light blue car. I don’t really know how else to explain it, just trust me.”

Jihoon can’t hold in his laughter anymore and both him and Seungcheol erupt into a laughing fit. “Thanks, I’m never gonna see this car the same way anymore.” After a beat, he remembers that they have plans other than sitting in the car giggling together. “I picked you up some coffee! I don’t know how you take it so I asked them to give me some extra sugar and creamer packets, and I think they gave me their entire inventory,” he says as he reaches for the plastic bag he had shoved in the center console.

“No way! I was just regretting not making any at the apartment.” Jihoon puts the car in drive as Seungcheol starts mixing some of the sugar packets into his coffee. “There’s only one coffee, did you not get one?”

“Oh- uh no I don’t really drink coffee like that.” It didn’t occur to Jihoon how weird it would look that he went out of his way to pick up something just for Seungcheol. He obviously appreciates the coffee so Jihoon has no regrets. “I don’t mind, I still owe you for buying me pho the other day.”

“You don’t owe me anything Jihoon,” Seungcheol says sincerely. “It’s really sweet you remembered that I love coffee.”

The ride to the reservoir is not awkward at all. Jihoon is relieved that things seem back to normal, but it leaves him with unanswered questions. Maybe it really was something unrelated that made Seungcheol’s mood change abruptly. But the more things seem normal, the more Jihoon is tempted to directly ask what the deal is. 

They pull up to the parking lot of the reservoir trail just as Seungcheol is finishing his rant about one of his finals. 

Jihoon hates he was so lost in his own anxious thoughts that he didn’t retain Seungcheol’s words, but he pretends to have followed along with a “that sounds really sucky, but I bet you’re relieved that it’s all over now and you have some time off.”

“That for fucking sure.” Seungcheol doesn’t seem to pick up on Jihoon’s generic answer and practically leaps out of the car. “Wow this is just what I needed, I’m ready to exploooooree!!!!” Jihoon can’t help but giggle as Seungcheol practically launches himself towards the trail head, coffee in hand and glancing back with eyebrows raised at Jihoon as if asking for his energy to be reciprocated. Jihoon smiles and jogs to catch up with him.

It’s pretty cold, but it becomes much less noticeable as they start to hike. The sun isn’t out either, but they hardly miss it with how beautifully the water is reflecting the mountains in the distance. It is somewhat more crowded than expected, and it’s mostly families enjoying a stroll on the day before Christmas Eve. The crowds start to thin out the further they trek. 

Seungcheol’s legs must be longer than they look with the pace he’s maintaining. Jihoon was able to keep up at first, but now he’s about to fall behind. When Seungcheol notices that he’s a little winded, he suggests they take a break at one of the scenic overlooks. Seungcheol pulls out his phone to take pictures. It’s so cute seeing how enthusiastic he is about being in nature and exploring. "I really need to take Felix and Changbin here, they'd love it."

The following silence as they both lean on the railing catching their breath reminds Jihoon of his building anxiety. Now might not be the best time to have a deep conversation, but he summons all the bravery he can find to blurt out “I really like you Seungcheol.”

He is clearly not expecting a confession right now, and he takes a sharp intake of breath as he turns towards Jihoon and searches his face. 

“I really like you too.”

Jihoon feels his heartbeat grow out of control from both joy and anticipation of his next words. “Um, why did you…” he can’t think of how to ask about Cheol’s reaction from a couple days ago, because he doesn’t even know what had happened. Thankfully, he seems to be on the same page and understand what Jihoon is asking.

“Oh, uh, I guess.. well I really do like you, but I am kind of having a hard time accepting how close you are with your ex. From what I can tell, he really hurt you and it’s hard for me to see how you still have to be around him because of work and you guys still seem to be friends, and I don’t want you to change that, you can do whatever you want but I don’t know, I guess it’s just something I need to learn how to be okay with if I’m going to keep…”

Jihoon has to cut him off, “Seungcheol! Slow down please! Do what??? My ex?” Seungcheol finally takes a breath after letting all of that out. He looks perplexed that Jihoon doesn’t know what he means.

“Vernon. Your ex.” 

Jihoon’s jaw drops in realization which seems to confuse Seungcheol even more, but he quickly scrambles to give an explanation while the puzzle pieces continue to fit together in his mind. “Vernon’s not my ex, he’s just my best friend. What made you think that?”

“The song! The one you sang on stage. You- you had said it was about Vernon. It was such an emotional and heartbreaking song, you’re saying that he didn’t hurt you like that?” 

“Oh my god. Oh wow, I can totally see why you thought that, I’m so blind. No, Vernon’s breakup with his girlfriend inspired that song. I was there to help him through that whole messy situation, and I drew from those emotions to write the song. I can see why you closed up when he called, but please don’t worry, I am not heartbroken and Vernon is not my ex.” Jihoon can see Seungcheol’s worried expression and tense shoulders relax throughout his explanation. He blinks as he processes the new information.

“Then what about the other songs? The karaoke song when I first met you, and Pinwheel? Are you alright? I was so sure that someone was making you sad. I guess I just assumed it was Vernon.”

At this moment, it hits Jihoon just how much Seungcheol cares for him. This gorgeous and kind man in front of him was genuinely upset just at the thought that Jihoon had been heartbroken. It makes him want to grab the man's face and kiss away all of the pain he must have been feeling on Jihoon’s behalf. He decides to reach out for Seungcheol’s hand and squeeze it reassuringly instead. “That’s really ironic that you’ve only heard me sing my sad and emotional songs. I didn’t think about that. I mean I do write a lot of those, but yes I am alright. Nobody is making me sad right now, even though it probably really seemed like it.”

Seungcheol sighs in relief and smiles down at Jihoon. “Good. I guess I got all worked up for no reason. I’m sorry.”

“You shouldn’t apologize! It’s sweet actually.”

Seungcheol pauses, thinking. “Then what inspires your songs? You said it was your creative outlet for your strong feelings, but where do those come from?”

“Like what makes me sad?” 

Seungcheol cringes, “That was a bad question wasn’t it, is that too personal?”

“No actually it’s not too personal, embarrassing maybe but not personal. Of course frustrating and emotional things do happen to me occasionally. But if I’m not writing about mine or a friend’s experiences, I usually get my inspiration from the emotions I feel from watching a movie or reading a book, or even a story I see on the news. If I get too attached to a story, it can feel like I become that person and feel their pain. Does that happen to you?” Jihoon feels a little self conscious at how silly that must sound to Seungcheol.

“Yeah, I guess it does. What kind of movies are you watching that make you feel like that though, I am curious,” he almost has a teasing tone. But a gentle teasing.

Jihoon has to take a second to think about it, and concludes, “Bambi… Charlotte’s Web.. uh, Avatar the Last Airbender too. The movie Up really did a number to my emotions, I think I cried for a week afterwards every time I thought about that married couple.”

Seungcheol bursts out in laughter and he intertwines his fingers with Jihoon’s still attached hand. “Jihoon you’re so cute. If you ever want to watch a sad movie you should invite me, I’ll come cry with you.” He tugs at Jihoon’s hand to go back towards the trail they were on and continue their walk. As they walk hand in hand talking about movies they enjoy, Jihoon starts to feel more at peace. It really is starting to feel like Christmas, as cheesy as that sounds. Seungcheol is starting to feel so much like home.

They finish their walk after stopping many more times for Seungcheol to take scenery pictures and for Jihoon to catch his breath and lose it again the second he catches sight of Seungcheol with his wind-tousled hair and perpetually smiling face. He seems so much more radiant and happy, and Jihoon himself feels brighter too. 

They finish their walk and Jihoon drives Seungcheol back to his apartment. Jihoon doesn’t want to go another day before seeing him again, so he invites him to join in on his Christmas cookie endeavor tomorrow. Seungcheol agrees even before Jihoon’s finished asking.

* * *

They actually made a great baking team. Flour did not end up all over the place, and the cookies turned out perfectly baked. The snowman that Seungcheol tried to shape out of the dough using a knife (Jihoon does not own any cookie cutters) didn’t turn out so well, though. It just looks like a sad blob on the cooling rack. They’re too distracted to be upset about it, currently cuddled up on the couch waiting for the cookies to cool down enough to frost. It’s times like these that Jihoon is thankful for the apartment style dorm room that all of the RA’s get first choice of. Even though it’s still tiny, he has a living room and kitchen of his own instead of having to share like a suite or just having a bedroom.

Cuddling with Seungcheol is really nice. He’s tempted to just stay like this forever and ignore finishing the cookies, but he can’t ignore his hunger. Cheol agrees to start icing the cookies while Jihoon makes ramen for both of them.

When they hear a gentle knock on the door, Jihoon goes to see who it is. There’s only one person still left on his side of the dorms so he already knows who it probably is. Minghao! 

“Sorry to interrupt,” he says as he catches sight of Seungcheol who is fully engrossed in his cookie decorating task. He flashes a knowing smile as he continues, “but I accidentally locked myself out of my bedroom.”

Jihoon runs to grab the set of dorm keys and follows Minghao to his room. 

“Looks like everything worked out.” Minghao still has that smile on his face.

Jihoon blushes. “Yeah, seems like it did. We hung out yesterday like you suggested and worked everything out.”

When they reach the bedroom door, Minghao says, “I guess we’re even now, I needed your help this time.”

“No you helped me twice, I still owe you food remember?”

Minghao winks as he responds, “Bring me a couple of those cookies and we’re even.”

They exchange a “Merry Christmas” to each other after Jihoon unlocks the door and makes sure Minghao is able to find his keys.

When he gets back to his own dorm, he finds Seungcheol had snuck some icing. He can tell by the blue still chilling on the corner of his mouth. A thought crosses through Jihoon’s mind and he follows through on it, walking up to him and pulling his face into a gentle kiss where the frosting is. When he pulls back and takes a step away, Seungcheol shows a stunned expression before looking down and seeing the blue is now on Jihoon’s mouth too.

“Oh,” Seungcheol says when he realizes and wipes his own mouth while letting out an embarrassed laugh. Before Jihoon has time to turn back around to focus his attention back on the pot of boiling water, Seungcheol pulls him back in and leans down to kiss him again.

This time, the kiss is sweet and slow, like they have all the time in the world to enjoy each other. Jihoon had made sure to turn his phone to silent this time, not that it matters now.

Kissing Seungcheol in his tiny dorm kitchen isn’t how he imagined spending his Christmas Eve this year, but at this moment, he can’t imagine doing anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look up pictures of a Hyundai Genesis Coupe and tell me it doesn't remind you of Jihoon lol it can't be just me who sees it


End file.
